Pre-Gaming w/Schmidtty: OK State Edition

That was one rough week. And now the other team from Oklahoma comes in attempting to kick the Horns while they’re down. A game plan on how to expose Texas’ weaknesses is now on film for all to see, so hopefully the coaching staff had a good week of practice. It’s all uphill – in terms of the schedule – from here, and there are no more gimme games for the Horns (except maybe Kansas). OK State will be a good barometer to see where Texas currently stands in it’s journey back to the top of the Big 12.

Head Coach (Record): Mike Gundy (52-29, All at OK State)

Current Record (Big 12): 5-0 (2-0)

AP Top 25 Ranking: #6; USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: #7

Player(s) to Watch for OK State: Easy, easy, easy … QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon. Weeden will get teased because he’s older than half the guys starting at his position … in the NFL (he’s older than Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Kevin Kolb, Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, Chad Henne, Sam Bradford, Curtis Painter, Blaine Gabbert, Matt Moore and Tim Tebow … all guys that have started an NFL game in 2011 or will this coming week). That being said, the former Yankees farmhand is currently second in the nation in completion percentage (75.8%), fourth in passing yards (1,880), ninth in passing touchdowns (15) and he has a quarterback rating of 165.0 which places him at 12th overall. Blackmon is making a case to become the second straight Biletnikoff Award winner since Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. He’s had a touchdown in each of the past four games and is averaging 106.8 receiving yards per game.

Key Matchup: Longhorn DBs vs. the OK State passing attack. Last week, the young corners were exposed by Landry Jones and the OU receivers. Their press coverage failed and guys like Ryan Broyles, Jaz Reynolds and Kenny Stills could run their routes as they pleased. OK State may not have the combined talent of those three receivers, but they do have Blackmon who may be better than all three combined. And with the lack of a pass rush by UT, the play of the DBs becomes all that much more important. The good news for Texas cornerbacks, Weeden has thrown six interceptions this year. The bad news, he hasn’t thrown one in the last two weeks (against Big 12 opponents Texas A&M and Kansas). The great comebacks against OK State have started with defense (and ended with VY 80-yard runs, see video below), and this year’s group will need a lot of it if they are going to pull off the upset.

Prediction: OU exposed Texas’ weaknesses that the lesser talented teams on the schedule couldn’t, including the two-QB system which up until that point had been pretty successful. The offensive line didn’t allow it’s young quarterbacks enough time to make decisions and never got enough of a push for their running backs. If not for Fozzy Whittaker, would Texas have moved the ball on the ground at all? Even the wide receivers were getting sacked (Jaxon Shipley now has even more in common with Case McCoy). And all the talk about Texas not being worried about the lack of sacks by it’s defense because they were still getting pressure on quick-release QBs can be put to bed now. Landry Jones attempted 50 passes and got sacked once. It’s a problem. I don’t think Mack Brown has all the answers in one short week against a team that is clicking on all cylinders putting 70 points on Kansas last week. OK State wins this one 42-21.

Where to Watch: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium of course! Well, if you can’t get through the gates you can always catch it on ABC at 2:30 PM CST.

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